US20070057158A1 - Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode - Google Patents

Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US20070057158A1
US20070057158A1 US11/598,064 US59806406A US2007057158A1 US 20070057158 A1 US20070057158 A1 US 20070057158A1 US 59806406 A US59806406 A US 59806406A US 2007057158 A1 US2007057158 A1 US 2007057158A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
region
type
floating diffusion
type region
charge collection
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
US11/598,064
Other versions
US7394056B2 (en
Inventor
Sungkwon Hong
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Aptina Imaging Corp
Original Assignee
Micron Technology Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Micron Technology Inc filed Critical Micron Technology Inc
Priority to US11/598,064 priority Critical patent/US7394056B2/en
Publication of US20070057158A1 publication Critical patent/US20070057158A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US7394056B2 publication Critical patent/US7394056B2/en
Assigned to MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC. reassignment MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: HONG, SUNGKWON C.
Assigned to APTINA IMAGING CORPORATION reassignment APTINA IMAGING CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L27/00Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate
    • H01L27/14Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation
    • H01L27/144Devices controlled by radiation
    • H01L27/146Imager structures
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L27/00Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate
    • H01L27/14Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation
    • H01L27/144Devices controlled by radiation
    • H01L27/146Imager structures
    • H01L27/14601Structural or functional details thereof
    • H01L27/14609Pixel-elements with integrated switching, control, storage or amplification elements
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L27/00Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate
    • H01L27/14Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation
    • H01L27/144Devices controlled by radiation
    • H01L27/146Imager structures
    • H01L27/14601Structural or functional details thereof
    • H01L27/1463Pixel isolation structures
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L27/00Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate
    • H01L27/14Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation
    • H01L27/144Devices controlled by radiation
    • H01L27/146Imager structures
    • H01L27/14643Photodiode arrays; MOS imagers
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L27/00Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate
    • H01L27/14Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation
    • H01L27/144Devices controlled by radiation
    • H01L27/146Imager structures
    • H01L27/14683Processes or apparatus peculiar to the manufacture or treatment of these devices or parts thereof
    • H01L27/14689MOS based technologies
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N25/00Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
    • H04N25/50Control of the SSIS exposure
    • H04N25/57Control of the dynamic range
    • H04N25/571Control of the dynamic range involving a non-linear response
    • H04N25/575Control of the dynamic range involving a non-linear response with a response composed of multiple slopes
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N25/00Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
    • H04N25/50Control of the SSIS exposure
    • H04N25/57Control of the dynamic range
    • H04N25/59Control of the dynamic range by controlling the amount of charge storable in the pixel, e.g. modification of the charge conversion ratio of the floating node capacitance

Definitions

  • the invention relates generally to methods and apparatus pertaining to a pixel array of an imager.
  • the invention relates to imagers having pixels with an improved floating diffusion region.
  • a digital imager array includes a focal plane array of pixel cells, each one of the cells including a photoconversion device, e.g. a photogate, photoconductor, or a photodiode.
  • a photoconversion device e.g. a photogate, photoconductor, or a photodiode.
  • a readout circuit is connected to each pixel cell which typically includes a source follower output transistor.
  • the photoconversion device converts photons to electrons which are typically transferred to a charge storage region, which may be a floating diffusion region, connected to the gate of the source follower output transistor.
  • a charge transfer device e.g., transistor
  • imager cells typically have a transistor for resetting the floating diffusion region to a predetermined charge level prior to charge transference.
  • the output of the source follower transistor is gated as an output signal by a row select transistor.
  • CMOS imaging circuits Exemplary CMOS imaging circuits, processing steps thereof, and detailed descriptions of the functions of various CMOS elements of an imaging circuit are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,630 to Rhodes, U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,868 to Rhodes, U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,366 to Rhodes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,652 to Rhodes, U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,524 to Rhodes, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,333,205 to Rhodes. The disclosures of each of the forgoing are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary imager device 308 having a pixel array 200 with each pixel cell being constructed as described above.
  • Pixel array 200 comprises a plurality of pixels arranged in a predetermined number of columns and rows. The pixels of each row in array 200 are all turned on at the same time by a row select line, and the pixels of each column are selectively output by respective column select lines. A plurality of row and column lines are provided for the entire array 200 .
  • the row lines are selectively activated by a row driver 210 in response to row address decoder 220 .
  • the column select lines are selectively activated by a column driver 260 in response to column address decoder 270 .
  • a row and column address is provided for each pixel.
  • the CMOS imager is operated by the timing and control circuit 250 , which controls address decoders 220 , 270 for selecting the appropriate row and column lines for pixel readout.
  • the control circuit 250 also controls the row and column driver circuitry 210 , 260 such that these apply driving voltages to the drive transistors of the selected row and column lines.
  • the pixel column signals which typically include a pixel reset signal (V rst ) and a pixel image signal (V sig ) for selected pixels, are read by a sample and hold circuit 261 associated with the column device 260 .
  • a differential signal (V rst ⁇ V sig ) is produced by differential amplifier 262 for each pixel which is digitized by analog to digital converter 275 (ADC).
  • ADC analog to digital converter 275 supplies the digitized pixel signals to an image processor 280 which forms a digital image.
  • Pixels of conventional image sensors employ a photoconversion device as shown in FIG. 2 .
  • This photoconversion device may typically include a photodiode 59 having a p-region 21 and n-region 23 in a p-substrate.
  • the pixel also includes a transfer transistor with associated gate 25 , a floating diffusion region 16 , and a reset transistor with associated gate 29 .
  • Photons striking the surface of the photodiode 59 generate electrons which are collected in region 23 .
  • the transfer gate is on, the photon-generated electrons in region 23 are transferred to the floating diffusion region 16 as a result of the potential difference existing between the photodiode 59 and floating diffusion region 16 .
  • the charges are converted to voltage signals by a source follower transistor (not shown).
  • the floating diffusion region 16 Prior to charge transfer, the floating diffusion region 16 is set to a predetermined low charge state by turning on the reset transistor having gate 29 which causes electrons in region 16 to flow into a voltage source connected to a source/drain 17 .
  • Regions 55 are STI insulation regions for isolating the pixels from one another.
  • FIG. 3 is a potential diagram for the image sensor shown in FIG. 2 .
  • the full well charge capacity of the photodiode 59 is in the shaded area under heading “PD” and is a function of a pinned potential (V PIN ) and photodiode capacitance (C PD ).
  • V PIN pinned potential
  • C PD photodiode capacitance
  • V PIN pinned potential
  • C PD photodiode capacitance
  • the floating diffusion region charge storage capacity also has a saturation voltage, shown as the shaded region under the heading “FD.”
  • the bottom potential V RST represents a reset voltage of the floating diffusion region 16 .
  • the transfer gate 25 When the transfer gate 25 is on, the barrier potential separating the photodiode 59 and floating diffusion region 16 is lowered, as represented by the dotted line in FIG. 3 . As a result, electrons move from the photodiode 59 to the floating diffusion region 16 .
  • the output voltage response based on the charge transferred to region 16 is a linear function of the light intensity up to the point where the response reaches the region 16 saturation point (V SAT ).
  • the region 16 saturation point limits the dynamic range of the pixel and the ability of the image sensor to capture intra-scene intensity variations under certain light conditions.
  • Embodiments of the present invention provide a pixel of an image sensor with a pinned floating diffusion region.
  • the photodiode and pinned floating diffusion region have different pinning potentials, thus allowing output voltage to rise more slowly as light intensity generates electrons which approach the saturation level of the floating diffusion region.
  • the charge reaches the pinning potential of the floating diffusion region and the output voltage/light intensity slope changes. The change in slope of output voltage increases dynamic range.
  • FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional imager device having a pixel array
  • FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a pixel of a conventional image sensor
  • FIG. 3 is a potential diagram for the pixel depicted in FIG. 2 ;
  • FIG. 4 is a graph showing output voltage as a function of input light signal for the FIG. 2 pixel
  • FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a pixel of an image sensor according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a potential diagram for the pixel of FIG. 5 ;
  • FIG. 7 is a graph showing output voltage as a function of input light signal for the pixel of FIG. 5 ;
  • FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the FIG. 5 photodiode during an initial stage of processing performed in accordance with a method of fabricating the FIG. 5 embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 9 shows a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 8 ;
  • FIG. 10 shows a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 9 ;
  • FIG. 11 shows a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 10 ;
  • FIG. 12 shows a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 11 ;
  • FIG. 13 shows a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 12 ;
  • FIG. 14 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of a pixel of an image sensor according to another embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 15 is a potential diagram for the image sensor of FIG. 14 ;
  • FIG. 16 is a potential diagram for another embodiment according to the invention.
  • FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a processing system employing an imager constructed in accordance with any of the various embodiments of the present invention.
  • wafer and substrate are to be understood as including silicon, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) or silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) technology, doped and undoped semiconductors, epitaxial layers of silicon supported by a base semiconductor foundation, and other semiconductor structures.
  • SOI silicon-on-insulator
  • SOS silicon-on-sapphire
  • doped and undoped semiconductors epitaxial layers of silicon supported by a base semiconductor foundation, and other semiconductor structures.
  • previous processing steps may have been utilized to form regions, junctions, or material layers in or over the base semiconductor structure or foundation.
  • the semiconductor need not be silicon-based, but could be based on silicon-germanium, germanium, gallium arsenide or other semiconductors.
  • pixel refers to a photo-element unit cell containing a photoconversion device for converting photons to an electrical signal.
  • a single representative pixel and its manner of formation is illustrated in the figures and description herein; however, typically fabrication of a plurality of like pixels proceeds simultaneously.
  • the invention is described in relation to a CMOS imager for convenience; however, the invention has wider applicability to circuits of other types of imager devices, for example the invention is also applicable to an output stage of a CCD imager. Accordingly, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.
  • a first exemplary embodiment of the invention provides a pinned diode floating diffusion region which modifies how charge is received and stored at the floating diffusion region to widen the dynamic range of an image sensor.
  • the doping structure of the pinned diode floating diffusion region is similar to that of a pinned photodiode.
  • the pinned diode floating diffusion region has a different pin potential (V PIN2 ) from that of the photodiode (V PIN1 ). Because V PIN2 is a different potential than V PIN1 , the output voltage (V OUT ) rises in two linear regions of different slope for each V PIX as shown in FIG. 7 for example, in response to photodiode charge before a saturation point is reached.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates a pixel sensor cell constructed in accordance with the first embodiment.
  • a photoconversion device 50 is illustratively formed in a p-type substrate 60 which also has a more heavily doped p-type well 61 .
  • the photoconversion device 50 is illustratively a photodiode and may be a p-n junction photodiode, a Schottky photodiode, or any other suitable photodiode, but for exemplary purposes is discussed as a pinned p-n-p photodiode with pin potential V PIN1 .
  • the exemplary pinned photodiode 50 includes a p+ region 22 and an n-type region 24 associated with p-substrate 60 .
  • the remaining structures shown in FIG. 5 include a transfer transistor with associated gate 26 and a reset transistor with associated gate 28 .
  • Shallow trench isolation (STI) regions 55 used for isolating pixels, and source/drain regions 30 and 41 are also shown.
  • a source follower transistor 33 and row select transistor 35 with associated gates are also included in the pixel sensor cell, but are schematically shown rather than being shown in a cross-sectional view, with the output of the row select transistor 35 being connected with a column readout line 37 .
  • the invention can also be utilized in a 3-transistor (3T) configuration, without a transfer transistor where the region 24 is directly coupled to floating diffusion region 43 , and in pixels with other higher transistor number configurations.
  • the floating diffusion region 43 is constructed as a pinned diode floating diffusion region.
  • the pinned diode floating diffusion region 43 has a p+ region 40 within n-type region 41 .
  • the p+ type region 40 of the floating diffusion region 43 is preferably located adjacent and below the sidewall of transfer gate 26 so as to create symmetry with the p+ region 22 of photodiode 50 located on the opposite side of transfer gate 26 .
  • an n+ contact region 42 can also be formed in n-type region 41 to provide a good ohmic contact to contact 27 in the form of a conductive plug.
  • V PIN2 of the floating diffusion region 43 can be made higher than V PIN1 of the photodiode 50 by adjusting implantation conditions such as angle and dosages.
  • Contact 27 is electrically connected through the n+ type region 42 to the floating diffusion region 43 .
  • the n+ region 42 is formed through an after-contact etch-implantation step, which reduces potential barriers.
  • An optional storage capacitor 31 may be connected to the pinned floating diffusion region 43 by way of contact 27 .
  • Storage capacitor 31 has a first electrode 34 and a second electrode 32 with a dielectric layer between the electrodes 32 , 34 .
  • contact 27 is connected to a storage capacitor 31 to increase charge storage capacitance of floating diffusion region 43 , however the image sensor may be formed without the storage capacitor 31 .
  • FIG. 6 the potential diagram of a pixel cell constructed in accordance with the FIG. 5 embodiment of the invention having capacitor 31 is depicted.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates the output voltage transfer function for this embodiment.
  • FIG. 6 shows the case where the reset voltage V RST applied to the floating diffusion region equals the pixel supply voltage V PIX on electrode 32 of capacitor 31 .
  • FIG. 7 a two slope charge transfer characteristic is produced, which contrasts with the FIG. 4 graph for a conventional image sensor.
  • the conventional image sensor reaches a saturation point more quickly after one linear slope step ( FIG. 4 ), while the pixel of FIG. 5 has first and second operating ranges with different output voltage slopes. If the floating diffusion region potential is less than V PIX ⁇ V PIN2 after transfer of the charge carriers to the floating diffusion region, as may be the case in a low light situation, the pixel of the FIG. 5 acts much like the pixel of FIG. 2 , having an output voltage function that rises at a linear slope with increasing light intensity, as shown in FIG. 4 .
  • the floating diffusion region potential reaches a value greater than V PIX ⁇ V PIN2 as may be the case with higher light intensities, the slope of the output voltage function is lowered, allowing a higher light intensity change to be received before the floating diffusion region saturates, at V SAT .
  • FIG. 7 also shows the operating situation under conditions of three different pixel supply voltages which are applied at electrode 32 of the capacitor 31 to produce different pixel saturation levels.
  • V PIXA , V PIXB and V PIXC represent different (decreasing) voltages for V PIX .
  • V PIX is lowered, so too is the pixel saturation voltage.
  • the pinned diode floating diffusion region 43 allows receipt of more charge at the diffusion region 43 before saturation is reached and the output voltage of the pixel, taken off floating diffusion region 43 , has two associated slopes for accumulated charges.
  • FIGS. 8-13 show one exemplary method of forming a pixel sensor cell with a pinned diode floating diffusion region 43 at various stages of formation.
  • the pinned floating diffusion region 43 will be described as formed in a p-well 61 of a p-type substrate 60 ; however it may also be formed in an n-well in an n-type substrate, and other structures may also be used.
  • First the substrate 60 is formed. In this exemplary structure, substrate 60 is a p-type silicon substrate on which gate stacks 15 and 19 are formed.
  • a p-well 61 is formed within the substrate 60 . Isolation regions 55 are also formed.
  • the p-type well 61 may be formed before or after the formation of isolation regions 55 and gate stacks 15 and 19 .
  • the p-well 61 implant may be conducted so that the pixel array well 61 and a p-type periphery logic well (not shown), which will contain logic circuits for controlling the pixel array, have different doping profiles. As known in the art, multiple high energy implants may be used to tailor the profile of the p-type well 61 .
  • the isolation regions 55 are used to electrically isolate regions of the substrate where pixel cells will be formed.
  • the isolation regions 55 can be formed by any known technique such as thermal oxidation of the underlying silicon in a LOCOS process, or by etching trenches and filling them with oxide in an STI (shallow trench isolation) process. Following formation of isolation regions 55 if the p-type well 61 has not yet been formed, it may then be formed by masked implantation to produce the p-type well 61 .
  • FIG. 8 shows an exemplary embodiment with gate stacks 15 , 19 for a transfer transistor and a reset transistor, respectively.
  • Transfer gate stack 15 , and reset gate stack 19 can be formed by well-known methods, e.g., blanket deposition of gate oxide, doped polysilicon, deposition of metal for a silicide, annealing to form a silicide, then patterning and etching.
  • the invention is not limited to a particular method of forming transistor gate stacks 15 , 19 .
  • Transfer gate stack 15 is illustratively shown as spanning a boundary of p-well 61 , but could also be completely over p-well 61 .
  • n-type region 41 of pinned floating diffusion region 43 is also formed by ion implantation of n-type dopants, as illustrated in FIG. 9 .
  • formed n-type source/drain regions 30 are also shown in FIG. 9 .
  • regions 30 are n+ doped and may be formed by applying a mask to the substrate and doping the regions 30 by ion implantation.
  • FIG. 10 shows the formation of p+ region 40 , located close to transfer gate stack 15 and within n-type region 41 , thereby forming a p/n diode.
  • Region 40 is p+ doped in this embodiment and is not extended to the channel region of reset gate stack 19 .
  • region 40 and subsequently formed n+ contact region 42 should be separated and not associated with one another.
  • Region 42 is formed later after formation of an opening in an overlying insulation layer for formation of contact 27 through an etch-implantation step, discussed below.
  • FIG. 11 illustrates implantation of pinned photodiode 50 , having p-type region 22 and n-type region 24 .
  • Regions 22 and 24 of photodiode 50 are implanted by any methods known in the art at any conventional point in the fabrication process and could be implanted in several steps, some preceding the fabrication state depicted in FIG. 9 and some after.
  • gate stack sidewall insulators 70 , 71 are formed on the sides of the gate stacks 15 , 19 , respectively, using conventional techniques to form transistors with associated gates 26 , 28 .
  • Gate stack sidewall insulators are also formed on other remaining gate stacks not shown in FIG. 11 .
  • Conventional processing methods may be used to form insulating, shielding, and metallization layers to connect gate lines and make other connections to the pixel cells.
  • the entire surface may be covered with a passivation layer 88 of, for example, silicon dioxide, BSG, PSG, or BPSG, which is CMP planarized and etched to provide contact holes, which are then metallized to provide contacts.
  • FIG. 12 shows the formation of passivation layer 88 of BPSG and a contact opening therein to floating diffusion region 43 .
  • region 42 is formed within the n-type region 41 by an etch-implantation step as shown in FIG. 13 .
  • region 42 is doped n+ type and is doped at a higher concentration than the n-type region 41 to provide a good ohmic contact.
  • contact 27 is formed in the contact opening.
  • Region 42 is connected to contact 27 and located within region 41 , but is separated from and not associated with, and does not interfere with, p+ region 40 .
  • a storage capacitor 31 ( FIG. 9 ) may be optionally formed over the passivation layer 88 or at another surface portion of substrate 60 by methods known in the art. Conventional layers of conductors and insulators may also be used to interconnect the structures, to connect the pixel to peripheral circuitry and to protect the circuitry from the environment.
  • FIG. 14 shows another pixel cell embodiment of the invention.
  • p+ region 40 ′ of pinned diode floating diffusion region 45 surrounds n+ region 42 , but does not extend into the portion of region 41 under the reset transistor gate 28 .
  • p+ region 40 ′ and n+ region 42 are not separated from one another.
  • Region 42 of this embodiment is positioned to extend beyond the bottom edge of p+ region 40 ′ such that n+ region 42 extends into the n-type region of pinned diode floating diffusion region 45 .
  • the process for forming the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 is similar to the process shown in FIGS. 8-13 , with the following exceptions.
  • the p+ region 40 ′ is implanted such that it extends over a greater portion of floating diffusion region 45 and n+ region 42 is implanted into n-type region 41 .
  • the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 has a modified potential diagram, compared with that of FIG. 5 , as shown in FIG. 15 . Additional storage capacitance ( ⁇ C) is added when the p+ region 40 ′ surrounds the n+ region 42 and the n+ region 42 has contact with the n-type region 41 , the p+ region 40 ′ and the contact 27 .
  • the embodiment of FIG. 14 may also include or omit a capacitor 31 , shown in FIG. 5 .
  • FIG. 15 shows a potential diagram for the embodiment of FIG. 14 . Because p+ region 40 ′ surrounds n+ region 42 , capacitance of the pinned diode is increased, as shown by ⁇ C. As a result, even without an external capacitor, V SAT is reached more slowly.
  • FIG. 15 omits any charge capacitance associated with an external capacitor such as capacitor 31 ( FIG. 5 ) and charge storage region CAP in FIG. 6 .
  • FIG. 16 shows the potential diagram of the FIG. 5 embodiment, but omitting an external capacitor 31 .
  • the additional storage capacitance ⁇ C produced by the larger p+ region 40 ′ in the FIG. 14 embodiment compared with the p+ region 40 in the FIG. 5 embodiment can be readily seen by comparing FIGS. 15 and 16 .
  • FIG. 17 shows a processor system 300 , which includes an imager device 308 having the overall configuration depicted in FIG. 1 , but with pixels of array 200 constructed in accordance with any of the various embodiments of the invention.
  • System 300 includes a processor 302 having a central processing unit (CPU) that communicates with various devices over a bus 304 . Some of the devices connected to the bus 304 provide communication into and out of the system 300 ; an input/output (I/O) device 306 and imager device 308 are examples of such communication devices.
  • CPU central processing unit
  • the imager device 308 may be constructed as shown in FIG. 1 but with the pixel array 200 having the characteristics of an embodiment of the invention such as those described above in connection with FIGS. 5-16 .
  • the imager device 308 may receive control or other data from CPU 302 or other components of system 300 .
  • the imager device 308 may, in turn, provide signals defining images to processor 302 for image processing, or other image handling operations.
  • the invention has been described in terms of a floating diffusion region with a pinned diode, but other structures to provide a change in slope of output voltage as light intensity rises will be within the scope of the invention. Also, the invention has been described in relation to electron transfer, but could also be applied to transfer of holes to a depletion photodiode.

Abstract

The present invention provides an image sensor having a pinned floating diffusion region in addition to a pinned photodiode. The pinned floating diffusion region increases the capacity of the sensor to store charge, increases the dynamic range of the sensor and widens intra-scene intensity variation.

Description

    CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
  • This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 11/433,350, filed May 15, 2006, which is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/654,938, filed on Sep. 5, 2003, each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
  • FIELD OF THE INVENTION
  • The invention relates generally to methods and apparatus pertaining to a pixel array of an imager. In particular, the invention relates to imagers having pixels with an improved floating diffusion region.
  • BACKGROUND
  • Typically, a digital imager array includes a focal plane array of pixel cells, each one of the cells including a photoconversion device, e.g. a photogate, photoconductor, or a photodiode. In one such imager, known as a CMOS imager, a readout circuit is connected to each pixel cell which typically includes a source follower output transistor. The photoconversion device converts photons to electrons which are typically transferred to a charge storage region, which may be a floating diffusion region, connected to the gate of the source follower output transistor. A charge transfer device (e.g., transistor) can be included for transferring charge from the photoconversion device to the floating diffusion region. In addition, such imager cells typically have a transistor for resetting the floating diffusion region to a predetermined charge level prior to charge transference. The output of the source follower transistor is gated as an output signal by a row select transistor.
  • Exemplary CMOS imaging circuits, processing steps thereof, and detailed descriptions of the functions of various CMOS elements of an imaging circuit are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,630 to Rhodes, U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,868 to Rhodes, U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,366 to Rhodes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,652 to Rhodes, U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,524 to Rhodes, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,333,205 to Rhodes. The disclosures of each of the forgoing are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary imager device 308 having a pixel array 200 with each pixel cell being constructed as described above. Pixel array 200 comprises a plurality of pixels arranged in a predetermined number of columns and rows. The pixels of each row in array 200 are all turned on at the same time by a row select line, and the pixels of each column are selectively output by respective column select lines. A plurality of row and column lines are provided for the entire array 200. The row lines are selectively activated by a row driver 210 in response to row address decoder 220. The column select lines are selectively activated by a column driver 260 in response to column address decoder 270. Thus, a row and column address is provided for each pixel. The CMOS imager is operated by the timing and control circuit 250, which controls address decoders 220, 270 for selecting the appropriate row and column lines for pixel readout. The control circuit 250 also controls the row and column driver circuitry 210, 260 such that these apply driving voltages to the drive transistors of the selected row and column lines. The pixel column signals, which typically include a pixel reset signal (Vrst) and a pixel image signal (Vsig) for selected pixels, are read by a sample and hold circuit 261 associated with the column device 260. A differential signal (Vrst−Vsig) is produced by differential amplifier 262 for each pixel which is digitized by analog to digital converter 275 (ADC). The analog to digital converter 275 supplies the digitized pixel signals to an image processor 280 which forms a digital image.
  • Pixels of conventional image sensors, such as a CMOS imager, employ a photoconversion device as shown in FIG. 2. This photoconversion device may typically include a photodiode 59 having a p-region 21 and n-region 23 in a p-substrate. The pixel also includes a transfer transistor with associated gate 25, a floating diffusion region 16, and a reset transistor with associated gate 29. Photons striking the surface of the photodiode 59 generate electrons which are collected in region 23. When the transfer gate is on, the photon-generated electrons in region 23 are transferred to the floating diffusion region 16 as a result of the potential difference existing between the photodiode 59 and floating diffusion region 16. The charges are converted to voltage signals by a source follower transistor (not shown). Prior to charge transfer, the floating diffusion region 16 is set to a predetermined low charge state by turning on the reset transistor having gate 29 which causes electrons in region 16 to flow into a voltage source connected to a source/drain 17. Regions 55 are STI insulation regions for isolating the pixels from one another.
  • FIG. 3 is a potential diagram for the image sensor shown in FIG. 2. The full well charge capacity of the photodiode 59 is in the shaded area under heading “PD” and is a function of a pinned potential (VPIN) and photodiode capacitance (CPD). When the number of electrons generated reaches the charge capacity, the photodiode is saturated and cannot respond to any further photons. Generated electrons collected in region 23 are transferred from the photodiode 59 to the floating diffusion region 16. The floating diffusion region charge storage capacity also has a saturation voltage, shown as the shaded region under the heading “FD.” The bottom potential VRST represents a reset voltage of the floating diffusion region 16. When the transfer gate 25 is on, the barrier potential separating the photodiode 59 and floating diffusion region 16 is lowered, as represented by the dotted line in FIG. 3. As a result, electrons move from the photodiode 59 to the floating diffusion region 16.
  • As shown in the graph of FIG. 4, the output voltage response based on the charge transferred to region 16 is a linear function of the light intensity up to the point where the response reaches the region 16 saturation point (VSAT). The region 16 saturation point limits the dynamic range of the pixel and the ability of the image sensor to capture intra-scene intensity variations under certain light conditions.
  • SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • Embodiments of the present invention provide a pixel of an image sensor with a pinned floating diffusion region. The photodiode and pinned floating diffusion region have different pinning potentials, thus allowing output voltage to rise more slowly as light intensity generates electrons which approach the saturation level of the floating diffusion region. As light intensity rises, the charge reaches the pinning potential of the floating diffusion region and the output voltage/light intensity slope changes. The change in slope of output voltage increases dynamic range.
  • Additional features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and drawings which illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention.
  • BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional imager device having a pixel array;
  • FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a pixel of a conventional image sensor;
  • FIG. 3 is a potential diagram for the pixel depicted in FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 4 is a graph showing output voltage as a function of input light signal for the FIG. 2 pixel;
  • FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a pixel of an image sensor according to an embodiment of the invention;
  • FIG. 6 is a potential diagram for the pixel of FIG. 5;
  • FIG. 7 is a graph showing output voltage as a function of input light signal for the pixel of FIG. 5;
  • FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the FIG. 5 photodiode during an initial stage of processing performed in accordance with a method of fabricating the FIG. 5 embodiment of the invention;
  • FIG. 9 shows a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 8;
  • FIG. 10 shows a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 9;
  • FIG. 11 shows a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 10;
  • FIG. 12 shows a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 11;
  • FIG. 13 shows a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 12;
  • FIG. 14 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of a pixel of an image sensor according to another embodiment of the invention;
  • FIG. 15 is a potential diagram for the image sensor of FIG. 14;
  • FIG. 16 is a potential diagram for another embodiment according to the invention;
  • FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a processing system employing an imager constructed in accordance with any of the various embodiments of the present invention.
  • DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
  • In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof and show by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and that structural, logical, and electrical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The progression of processing steps described is exemplary of embodiments of the invention; however, the sequence of steps is not limited to that set forth herein and may be changed as is known in the art, with the exception of steps necessarily occurring in a certain order.
  • The terms “wafer” and “substrate,” as used herein, are to be understood as including silicon, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) or silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) technology, doped and undoped semiconductors, epitaxial layers of silicon supported by a base semiconductor foundation, and other semiconductor structures. Furthermore, when reference is made to a “wafer” or “substrate” in the following description, previous processing steps may have been utilized to form regions, junctions, or material layers in or over the base semiconductor structure or foundation. In addition, the semiconductor need not be silicon-based, but could be based on silicon-germanium, germanium, gallium arsenide or other semiconductors.
  • The term “pixel,” as used herein, refers to a photo-element unit cell containing a photoconversion device for converting photons to an electrical signal. For purposes of illustration, a single representative pixel and its manner of formation is illustrated in the figures and description herein; however, typically fabrication of a plurality of like pixels proceeds simultaneously. In the following description, the invention is described in relation to a CMOS imager for convenience; however, the invention has wider applicability to circuits of other types of imager devices, for example the invention is also applicable to an output stage of a CCD imager. Accordingly, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.
  • A first exemplary embodiment of the invention provides a pinned diode floating diffusion region which modifies how charge is received and stored at the floating diffusion region to widen the dynamic range of an image sensor. The doping structure of the pinned diode floating diffusion region is similar to that of a pinned photodiode. However, the pinned diode floating diffusion region has a different pin potential (VPIN2) from that of the photodiode (VPIN1). Because VPIN2 is a different potential than VPIN1, the output voltage (VOUT) rises in two linear regions of different slope for each VPIX as shown in FIG. 7 for example, in response to photodiode charge before a saturation point is reached.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates a pixel sensor cell constructed in accordance with the first embodiment. A photoconversion device 50 is illustratively formed in a p-type substrate 60 which also has a more heavily doped p-type well 61. The photoconversion device 50 is illustratively a photodiode and may be a p-n junction photodiode, a Schottky photodiode, or any other suitable photodiode, but for exemplary purposes is discussed as a pinned p-n-p photodiode with pin potential VPIN1.
  • The exemplary pinned photodiode 50, as shown in FIG. 5, includes a p+ region 22 and an n-type region 24 associated with p-substrate 60. The remaining structures shown in FIG. 5 include a transfer transistor with associated gate 26 and a reset transistor with associated gate 28. Shallow trench isolation (STI) regions 55, used for isolating pixels, and source/ drain regions 30 and 41 are also shown. A source follower transistor 33 and row select transistor 35 with associated gates are also included in the pixel sensor cell, but are schematically shown rather than being shown in a cross-sectional view, with the output of the row select transistor 35 being connected with a column readout line 37. Although shown in FIG. 5 as a 4-transistor (4T) configuration with a transfer transistor, the invention can also be utilized in a 3-transistor (3T) configuration, without a transfer transistor where the region 24 is directly coupled to floating diffusion region 43, and in pixels with other higher transistor number configurations.
  • As shown in FIG. 5, the floating diffusion region 43 is constructed as a pinned diode floating diffusion region. The pinned diode floating diffusion region 43 has a p+ region 40 within n-type region 41. The p+ type region 40 of the floating diffusion region 43 is preferably located adjacent and below the sidewall of transfer gate 26 so as to create symmetry with the p+ region 22 of photodiode 50 located on the opposite side of transfer gate 26. Though not essential, an n+ contact region 42 can also be formed in n-type region 41 to provide a good ohmic contact to contact 27 in the form of a conductive plug.
  • As discussed above, photodiode 50 and the diode (regions 40, 41) in floating diffusion region 43 should have different pin potentials in order to obtain dual slope output voltage function depicted in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, VPIN2 of the floating diffusion region 43 can be made higher than VPIN1 of the photodiode 50 by adjusting implantation conditions such as angle and dosages.
  • Contact 27 is electrically connected through the n+ type region 42 to the floating diffusion region 43. The n+ region 42 is formed through an after-contact etch-implantation step, which reduces potential barriers. An optional storage capacitor 31 may be connected to the pinned floating diffusion region 43 by way of contact 27. Storage capacitor 31 has a first electrode 34 and a second electrode 32 with a dielectric layer between the electrodes 32, 34. In this embodiment, contact 27 is connected to a storage capacitor 31 to increase charge storage capacitance of floating diffusion region 43, however the image sensor may be formed without the storage capacitor 31.
  • Referring to FIG. 6, the potential diagram of a pixel cell constructed in accordance with the FIG. 5 embodiment of the invention having capacitor 31 is depicted. FIG. 7 illustrates the output voltage transfer function for this embodiment.
  • FIG. 6 shows the case where the reset voltage VRST applied to the floating diffusion region equals the pixel supply voltage VPIX on electrode 32 of capacitor 31. As a result, after reset and when the transfer gate 26 is turned on and the transfer gate barrier potential is lowered to close to VPIN1, as shown by the dotted line, electrons flow first to electrode 34 and to the parasitic capacitance of floating diffusion region 43. Then when VPIN2 is reached, electrons also flow to the extra storage area created by pinned diode of floating diffusion region 43. Because of the additional capacitance produced by the pinned diode, output voltage rises more slowly as a function of transferred charge.
  • As shown in FIG. 7, a two slope charge transfer characteristic is produced, which contrasts with the FIG. 4 graph for a conventional image sensor. The conventional image sensor reaches a saturation point more quickly after one linear slope step (FIG. 4), while the pixel of FIG. 5 has first and second operating ranges with different output voltage slopes. If the floating diffusion region potential is less than VPIX−VPIN2 after transfer of the charge carriers to the floating diffusion region, as may be the case in a low light situation, the pixel of the FIG. 5 acts much like the pixel of FIG. 2, having an output voltage function that rises at a linear slope with increasing light intensity, as shown in FIG. 4. However, if the floating diffusion region potential reaches a value greater than VPIX−VPIN2 as may be the case with higher light intensities, the slope of the output voltage function is lowered, allowing a higher light intensity change to be received before the floating diffusion region saturates, at VSAT.
  • FIG. 7 also shows the operating situation under conditions of three different pixel supply voltages which are applied at electrode 32 of the capacitor 31 to produce different pixel saturation levels. VPIXA, VPIXB and VPIXC represent different (decreasing) voltages for VPIX. As VPIX is lowered, so too is the pixel saturation voltage. In all cases of VPIXA, VPIXB and VPIXC, the pinned diode floating diffusion region 43 allows receipt of more charge at the diffusion region 43 before saturation is reached and the output voltage of the pixel, taken off floating diffusion region 43, has two associated slopes for accumulated charges.
  • FIGS. 8-13 show one exemplary method of forming a pixel sensor cell with a pinned diode floating diffusion region 43 at various stages of formation. For convenience, the same cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 is utilized in FIGS. 8-13 for the ensuing description, so the source follower and row select transistors are not illustrated. The pinned floating diffusion region 43 will be described as formed in a p-well 61 of a p-type substrate 60; however it may also be formed in an n-well in an n-type substrate, and other structures may also be used. First the substrate 60, as shown in FIG. 8, is formed. In this exemplary structure, substrate 60 is a p-type silicon substrate on which gate stacks 15 and 19 are formed. A p-well 61 is formed within the substrate 60. Isolation regions 55 are also formed. The p-type well 61 may be formed before or after the formation of isolation regions 55 and gate stacks 15 and 19. The p-well 61 implant may be conducted so that the pixel array well 61 and a p-type periphery logic well (not shown), which will contain logic circuits for controlling the pixel array, have different doping profiles. As known in the art, multiple high energy implants may be used to tailor the profile of the p-type well 61.
  • The isolation regions 55 are used to electrically isolate regions of the substrate where pixel cells will be formed. The isolation regions 55 can be formed by any known technique such as thermal oxidation of the underlying silicon in a LOCOS process, or by etching trenches and filling them with oxide in an STI (shallow trench isolation) process. Following formation of isolation regions 55 if the p-type well 61 has not yet been formed, it may then be formed by masked implantation to produce the p-type well 61.
  • FIG. 8 shows an exemplary embodiment with gate stacks 15, 19 for a transfer transistor and a reset transistor, respectively. Transfer gate stack 15, and reset gate stack 19 can be formed by well-known methods, e.g., blanket deposition of gate oxide, doped polysilicon, deposition of metal for a silicide, annealing to form a silicide, then patterning and etching. The invention is not limited to a particular method of forming transistor gate stacks 15, 19. Transfer gate stack 15 is illustratively shown as spanning a boundary of p-well 61, but could also be completely over p-well 61.
  • The n-type region 41 of pinned floating diffusion region 43 is also formed by ion implantation of n-type dopants, as illustrated in FIG. 9. Similarly, formed n-type source/drain regions 30 are also shown in FIG. 9. For exemplary purposes, regions 30 are n+ doped and may be formed by applying a mask to the substrate and doping the regions 30 by ion implantation.
  • FIG. 10 shows the formation of p+ region 40, located close to transfer gate stack 15 and within n-type region 41, thereby forming a p/n diode. Region 40 is p+ doped in this embodiment and is not extended to the channel region of reset gate stack 19. In this embodiment, region 40 and subsequently formed n+ contact region 42 (FIG. 5) should be separated and not associated with one another. Region 42 is formed later after formation of an opening in an overlying insulation layer for formation of contact 27 through an etch-implantation step, discussed below.
  • FIG. 11 illustrates implantation of pinned photodiode 50, having p-type region 22 and n-type region 24. Regions 22 and 24 of photodiode 50 are implanted by any methods known in the art at any conventional point in the fabrication process and could be implanted in several steps, some preceding the fabrication state depicted in FIG. 9 and some after. After formation of regions, 40, 22 and 24, gate stack sidewall insulators 70, 71 are formed on the sides of the gate stacks 15, 19, respectively, using conventional techniques to form transistors with associated gates 26, 28. Gate stack sidewall insulators are also formed on other remaining gate stacks not shown in FIG. 11.
  • Conventional processing methods may be used to form insulating, shielding, and metallization layers to connect gate lines and make other connections to the pixel cells. For example, the entire surface may be covered with a passivation layer 88 of, for example, silicon dioxide, BSG, PSG, or BPSG, which is CMP planarized and etched to provide contact holes, which are then metallized to provide contacts. FIG. 12 shows the formation of passivation layer 88 of BPSG and a contact opening therein to floating diffusion region 43.
  • After the contact opening is formed, region 42 is formed within the n-type region 41 by an etch-implantation step as shown in FIG. 13. For exemplary purposes, region 42 is doped n+ type and is doped at a higher concentration than the n-type region 41 to provide a good ohmic contact. After region 42 is implanted, contact 27 is formed in the contact opening. Region 42 is connected to contact 27 and located within region 41, but is separated from and not associated with, and does not interfere with, p+ region 40. A storage capacitor 31 (FIG. 9) may be optionally formed over the passivation layer 88 or at another surface portion of substrate 60 by methods known in the art. Conventional layers of conductors and insulators may also be used to interconnect the structures, to connect the pixel to peripheral circuitry and to protect the circuitry from the environment.
  • FIG. 14 shows another pixel cell embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, p+ region 40′ of pinned diode floating diffusion region 45 surrounds n+ region 42, but does not extend into the portion of region 41 under the reset transistor gate 28. Unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 above, p+ region 40′ and n+ region 42 are not separated from one another. Region 42 of this embodiment is positioned to extend beyond the bottom edge of p+ region 40′ such that n+ region 42 extends into the n-type region of pinned diode floating diffusion region 45.
  • The process for forming the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 is similar to the process shown in FIGS. 8-13, with the following exceptions. The p+ region 40′ is implanted such that it extends over a greater portion of floating diffusion region 45 and n+ region 42 is implanted into n-type region 41. The embodiment shown in FIG. 14 has a modified potential diagram, compared with that of FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 15. Additional storage capacitance (ΔC) is added when the p+ region 40′ surrounds the n+ region 42 and the n+ region 42 has contact with the n-type region 41, the p+ region 40′ and the contact 27. The embodiment of FIG. 14 may also include or omit a capacitor 31, shown in FIG. 5.
  • FIG. 15 shows a potential diagram for the embodiment of FIG. 14. Because p+ region 40′ surrounds n+ region 42, capacitance of the pinned diode is increased, as shown by ΔC. As a result, even without an external capacitor, VSAT is reached more slowly.
  • The charge diagram of FIG. 15 omits any charge capacitance associated with an external capacitor such as capacitor 31 (FIG. 5) and charge storage region CAP in FIG. 6. FIG. 16 shows the potential diagram of the FIG. 5 embodiment, but omitting an external capacitor 31. The additional storage capacitance ΔC produced by the larger p+ region 40′ in the FIG. 14 embodiment compared with the p+ region 40 in the FIG. 5 embodiment can be readily seen by comparing FIGS. 15 and 16.
  • FIG. 17 shows a processor system 300, which includes an imager device 308 having the overall configuration depicted in FIG. 1, but with pixels of array 200 constructed in accordance with any of the various embodiments of the invention. System 300 includes a processor 302 having a central processing unit (CPU) that communicates with various devices over a bus 304. Some of the devices connected to the bus 304 provide communication into and out of the system 300; an input/output (I/O) device 306 and imager device 308 are examples of such communication devices. Other devices connected to the bus 304 provide memory, illustratively including a random access memory (RAM) 310, hard drive 312, and one or more peripheral memory devices such as a floppy disk drive 314 and compact disk (CD) drive 316. The imager device 308 may be constructed as shown in FIG. 1 but with the pixel array 200 having the characteristics of an embodiment of the invention such as those described above in connection with FIGS. 5-16. The imager device 308 may receive control or other data from CPU 302 or other components of system 300. The imager device 308 may, in turn, provide signals defining images to processor 302 for image processing, or other image handling operations.
  • The invention has been described in terms of a floating diffusion region with a pinned diode, but other structures to provide a change in slope of output voltage as light intensity rises will be within the scope of the invention. Also, the invention has been described in relation to electron transfer, but could also be applied to transfer of holes to a depletion photodiode.
  • The processes and devices described above illustrate preferred methods and typical devices of many that could be used and produced. The above description and drawings illustrate embodiments, which achieve the objects, features, and advantages of the present invention. However, it is not intended that the present invention be strictly limited to the above-described and illustrated embodiments. Any modifications, though presently unforeseeable, of the present invention that come within the spirit and scope of the following claims should be considered part of the present invention.

Claims (18)

1. An imager integrated circuit comprising:
a doped layer formed in a substrate;
an array of pixel sensor cells formed in said doped layer, wherein each pixel sensor cell has a charge collection region and a photoconversion device;
said charge collection region comprising a region of a first conductivity type at an upper surface of a region of a second conductivity type; and
signal processing circuitry formed in said substrate and electrically connected to the array for receiving and processing pixel signals representing an image acquired by the array and for providing output data representing said image.
2. The imager according to claim 1 wherein said charge collection region is a floating diffusion region.
3. The imager according to claim 1 further comprising a storage capacitor.
4. The imager according to claim 1 wherein said imager is a CMOS imager.
5. A method of forming a pixel sensor cell comprising:
forming a pixel sensor cell comprising a photoconversion device;
forming a charge collection region for receiving charges from said photoconversion device, the act of forming said charge collection region comprising forming a region of a first conductivity type at an upper surface of a region of a second conductivity type.
6. A method according to claim 5 further comprising forming a transfer transistor for transferring charge from said photoconversion device to said charge collection region.
7. The method according to claim 5 wherein said charge collection region is formed as a floating diffusion region.
8. The method according to claim 5 wherein said photoconversion device is formed as a photodiode.
9. The method according to claim 8 wherein said photodiode is formed as a pinned photodiode.
10. The method according to claim 5 wherein said charge collection region is formed within a region of said first conductivity type.
11. The method according to claim 5 wherein said second conductivity type region is an n-type region, wherein said first conductivity type regions is a p+ type region formed within said n-type region.
12. The method according to claim 11 further comprising an n+ type region within said n-type region.
13. The method according to claim 12 wherein said n+ type region is associated with a contact.
14. The method according to claim 12 wherein said n+ type region and said p+ type region are separated from one another by a portion of said n-type region.
15. The method according to claim 12 wherein said p+ type region surrounds said n+ type region extending into said n-type region.
16. The method according to claim 11 wherein said p+ type region is located adjacent to a transfer transistor gate.
17. The method according to claim 11 wherein said p+ type region does not contact a reset transistor gate channel region.
18. The method according to claim 5 further comprising an external storage capacitor electrically connected to said charge collection region.
US11/598,064 2003-09-05 2006-11-13 Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode Expired - Lifetime US7394056B2 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US11/598,064 US7394056B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2006-11-13 Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US10/654,938 US7115855B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2003-09-05 Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode
US11/433,350 US7279672B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2006-05-15 Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode
US11/598,064 US7394056B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2006-11-13 Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode

Related Parent Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US11/433,350 Division US7279672B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2006-05-15 Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20070057158A1 true US20070057158A1 (en) 2007-03-15
US7394056B2 US7394056B2 (en) 2008-07-01

Family

ID=34226043

Family Applications (4)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/654,938 Active 2024-05-21 US7115855B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2003-09-05 Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode
US11/299,665 Expired - Lifetime US7119322B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2005-12-13 CMOS image sensor having pinned diode floating diffusion region
US11/433,350 Expired - Lifetime US7279672B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2006-05-15 Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode
US11/598,064 Expired - Lifetime US7394056B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2006-11-13 Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode

Family Applications Before (3)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/654,938 Active 2024-05-21 US7115855B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2003-09-05 Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode
US11/299,665 Expired - Lifetime US7119322B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2005-12-13 CMOS image sensor having pinned diode floating diffusion region
US11/433,350 Expired - Lifetime US7279672B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2006-05-15 Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (4) US7115855B2 (en)
EP (1) EP1668701B1 (en)
JP (1) JP2007504670A (en)
KR (1) KR100854230B1 (en)
CN (2) CN100468755C (en)
TW (1) TWI281744B (en)
WO (1) WO2005041304A2 (en)

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20060243981A1 (en) * 2003-09-17 2006-11-02 Rhodes Howard E Masked spacer etching for imagers
US20080124829A1 (en) * 2004-12-09 2008-05-29 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Method for forming pinned photodiode resistant to electrical leakage
US20090109314A1 (en) * 2005-03-18 2009-04-30 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Solid state image pickup device and camera
CN101909167A (en) * 2009-06-05 2010-12-08 索尼公司 Solid-state imaging device, method of driving the same, and electronic system including the device
US20140015025A1 (en) * 2012-07-13 2014-01-16 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Image sensors including channel stop regions surrounding photodiodes and methods of fabricating the same
US9224780B2 (en) * 2012-05-31 2015-12-29 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor including a junction field effect transistor
WO2019227066A1 (en) * 2018-05-24 2019-11-28 Gigajot Technology Llc Image sensor having pixels with isolated floating diffusions
US20230223412A1 (en) * 2022-01-13 2023-07-13 Semiconductor Components Industries, Llc Transistor structures

Families Citing this family (69)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7105793B2 (en) * 2003-07-02 2006-09-12 Micron Technology, Inc. CMOS pixels for ALC and CDS and methods of forming the same
US7238977B2 (en) 2004-08-19 2007-07-03 Micron Technology, Inc. Wide dynamic range sensor having a pinned diode with multiple pinned voltages
US7071019B2 (en) * 2004-09-16 2006-07-04 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. System and method to improve image sensor sensitivity
US7635880B2 (en) * 2004-12-30 2009-12-22 Ess Technology, Inc. Method and apparatus for proximate CMOS pixels
US7205627B2 (en) * 2005-02-23 2007-04-17 International Business Machines Corporation Image sensor cells
US7205591B2 (en) * 2005-04-06 2007-04-17 International Business Machines Corporation Pixel sensor cell having reduced pinning layer barrier potential and method thereof
US7718459B2 (en) * 2005-04-15 2010-05-18 Aptina Imaging Corporation Dual conversion gain pixel using Schottky and ohmic contacts to the floating diffusion region and methods of fabrication and operation
WO2006124592A2 (en) * 2005-05-12 2006-11-23 California Institute Of Technology Linear dynamic range enhancement in a cmos imager
US7439561B2 (en) * 2005-08-08 2008-10-21 International Business Machines Corporation Pixel sensor cell for collecting electrons and holes
US8039875B2 (en) * 2005-08-08 2011-10-18 International Business Machines Corporation Structure for pixel sensor cell that collects electrons and holes
KR100790228B1 (en) * 2005-12-26 2008-01-02 매그나칩 반도체 유한회사 Cmos image sensor
KR100760913B1 (en) * 2005-12-29 2007-09-21 동부일렉트로닉스 주식회사 CMOS Image Sensor and Method for Manufacturing the same
KR100790586B1 (en) * 2006-05-25 2008-01-02 (주) 픽셀플러스 CMOS image sensor active pixel and method for sensing signal thereof
KR100738516B1 (en) * 2006-05-25 2007-07-11 (주) 픽셀플러스 Active pixel having pinned photodiode with coupling capacitor and method for sensing a signal thereof
JP4467542B2 (en) * 2006-06-15 2010-05-26 日本テキサス・インスツルメンツ株式会社 Solid-state imaging device
US7470945B2 (en) * 2006-12-01 2008-12-30 United Microelectronics Corp. CMOS image sensor and an additional N-well for connecting a floating node to a source follower transistor
KR100976886B1 (en) * 2006-12-22 2010-08-18 크로스텍 캐피탈, 엘엘씨 CMOS Image Sensors with Floating Base Readout Concept
US20080157149A1 (en) * 2006-12-27 2008-07-03 Dongbu Hitek Co., Ltd. CMOS image sensor and method for manufacturing the same
KR100806783B1 (en) * 2006-12-29 2008-02-27 동부일렉트로닉스 주식회사 Cmos image sensor and forming method of the same
US7528427B2 (en) 2007-01-30 2009-05-05 International Business Machines Corporation Pixel sensor cell having asymmetric transfer gate with reduced pinning layer barrier potential
KR100835893B1 (en) * 2007-03-20 2008-06-09 (주)실리콘화일 Photo diode having a luminescence converter
US7834411B2 (en) * 2007-05-15 2010-11-16 Foveon, Inc. CMOS pixel sensor with depleted photocollectors and a depleted common node
US7804052B2 (en) * 2007-06-08 2010-09-28 Aptina Imaging Corp. Methods and apparatuses for pixel testing
US20090001427A1 (en) * 2007-06-29 2009-01-01 Adkisson James W Charge carrier barrier for image sensor
KR100910936B1 (en) * 2007-08-09 2009-08-06 (주)실리콘화일 Unit pixel improving image sensitivity and dynamic range
US20090115878A1 (en) * 2007-11-07 2009-05-07 Micron Technology, Inc. Method, system and apparatus to boost pixel floating diffusion node voltage
US7858914B2 (en) 2007-11-20 2010-12-28 Aptina Imaging Corporation Method and apparatus for reducing dark current and hot pixels in CMOS image sensors
US20090179294A1 (en) * 2007-12-27 2009-07-16 Jeong-Yel Jang Image sensor and method for manufacturing the same
KR101002121B1 (en) * 2007-12-27 2010-12-16 주식회사 동부하이텍 Image Sensor and Method for Manufacturing thereof
KR100882467B1 (en) * 2007-12-28 2009-02-09 주식회사 동부하이텍 Image sensor and method for manufacturing thereof
KR100922922B1 (en) * 2007-12-28 2009-10-22 주식회사 동부하이텍 Image Sensor and Method for Manufacturing thereof
US20090201400A1 (en) * 2008-02-08 2009-08-13 Omnivision Technologies, Inc. Backside illuminated image sensor with global shutter and storage capacitor
KR20090098230A (en) * 2008-03-13 2009-09-17 삼성전자주식회사 Cmos image sensor capable of reducing a leakage current
US8264581B2 (en) * 2008-07-17 2012-09-11 Microsoft International Holdings B.V. CMOS photogate 3D camera system having improved charge sensing cell and pixel geometry
US20100079633A1 (en) * 2008-09-30 2010-04-01 Kim Jong Man Image sensor and manufacturing method of image sensor
US8138531B2 (en) * 2009-09-17 2012-03-20 International Business Machines Corporation Structures, design structures and methods of fabricating global shutter pixel sensor cells
US8212297B1 (en) * 2011-01-21 2012-07-03 Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited High optical efficiency CMOS image sensor
US8455971B2 (en) 2011-02-14 2013-06-04 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. Apparatus and method for improving charge transfer in backside illuminated image sensor
US20120249740A1 (en) * 2011-03-30 2012-10-04 Tae-Yon Lee Three-dimensional image sensors, cameras, and imaging systems
US8957358B2 (en) 2012-04-27 2015-02-17 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. CMOS image sensor chips with stacked scheme and methods for forming the same
US8629524B2 (en) 2012-04-27 2014-01-14 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. Apparatus for vertically integrated backside illuminated image sensors
US9153565B2 (en) 2012-06-01 2015-10-06 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. Image sensors with a high fill-factor
US10090349B2 (en) 2012-08-09 2018-10-02 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. CMOS image sensor chips with stacked scheme and methods for forming the same
US9601538B2 (en) * 2012-05-03 2017-03-21 Semiconductor Components Industries, Llc Image sensors with photoelectric films
JP6128494B2 (en) * 2012-06-27 2017-05-17 パナソニックIpマネジメント株式会社 Solid-state imaging device
CN103779365B (en) * 2012-10-19 2016-06-22 比亚迪股份有限公司 The imageing sensor of wide dynamic range pixel unit, its manufacture method and composition thereof
US9276031B2 (en) 2013-03-04 2016-03-01 Apple Inc. Photodiode with different electric potential regions for image sensors
US9741754B2 (en) * 2013-03-06 2017-08-22 Apple Inc. Charge transfer circuit with storage nodes in image sensors
US9147710B2 (en) 2013-07-23 2015-09-29 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Photodiode gate dielectric protection layer
US9596423B1 (en) 2013-11-21 2017-03-14 Apple Inc. Charge summing in an image sensor
US10103287B2 (en) * 2013-11-29 2018-10-16 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited Semiconductor arrangement and formation thereof
US10285626B1 (en) 2014-02-14 2019-05-14 Apple Inc. Activity identification using an optical heart rate monitor
US9497397B1 (en) 2014-04-08 2016-11-15 Apple Inc. Image sensor with auto-focus and color ratio cross-talk comparison
US9686485B2 (en) 2014-05-30 2017-06-20 Apple Inc. Pixel binning in an image sensor
JP2017054947A (en) * 2015-09-10 2017-03-16 セイコーエプソン株式会社 Solid-state image sensor and method for manufacturing the same, and electronic apparatus
US9912883B1 (en) 2016-05-10 2018-03-06 Apple Inc. Image sensor with calibrated column analog-to-digital converters
CN111682039B (en) 2016-09-23 2021-08-03 苹果公司 Stacked back side illumination SPAD array
EP3574344A2 (en) 2017-01-25 2019-12-04 Apple Inc. Spad detector having modulated sensitivity
US10656251B1 (en) 2017-01-25 2020-05-19 Apple Inc. Signal acquisition in a SPAD detector
US10962628B1 (en) 2017-01-26 2021-03-30 Apple Inc. Spatial temporal weighting in a SPAD detector
DE102017110129B4 (en) 2017-05-10 2020-07-09 Basler Ag Improvement of a pixel quality value
US10622538B2 (en) 2017-07-18 2020-04-14 Apple Inc. Techniques for providing a haptic output and sensing a haptic input using a piezoelectric body
US10440301B2 (en) 2017-09-08 2019-10-08 Apple Inc. Image capture device, pixel, and method providing improved phase detection auto-focus performance
US10283558B1 (en) * 2018-05-07 2019-05-07 Omnivision Technologies, Inc. Floating diffusion of image sensor with low leakage current
US10848693B2 (en) 2018-07-18 2020-11-24 Apple Inc. Image flare detection using asymmetric pixels
US11019294B2 (en) 2018-07-18 2021-05-25 Apple Inc. Seamless readout mode transitions in image sensors
US11233966B1 (en) 2018-11-29 2022-01-25 Apple Inc. Breakdown voltage monitoring for avalanche diodes
US11563910B2 (en) 2020-08-04 2023-01-24 Apple Inc. Image capture devices having phase detection auto-focus pixels
US11546532B1 (en) 2021-03-16 2023-01-03 Apple Inc. Dynamic correlated double sampling for noise rejection in image sensors

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5625210A (en) * 1995-04-13 1997-04-29 Eastman Kodak Company Active pixel sensor integrated with a pinned photodiode
US5903021A (en) * 1997-01-17 1999-05-11 Eastman Kodak Company Partially pinned photodiode for solid state image sensors
US20020020863A1 (en) * 2000-06-20 2002-02-21 Lee Seo Kyu CMOS active pixel for improving sensitivity
US20030071196A1 (en) * 2001-10-16 2003-04-17 Csem Centre Suisse D'electronique Et De Microtechnique Sa Photodetector with high dynamic range and increased operating temperature
US20060286708A1 (en) * 2005-01-14 2006-12-21 Omnivision Technologies, Inc. Image sensor and pixel having an optimized floating diffusion
US20070023796A1 (en) * 2005-07-27 2007-02-01 International Business Machines Corporation Pinning layer for pixel sensor cell and method thereof
US20070023804A1 (en) * 2003-03-28 2007-02-01 Inna Patrick Double pinned photodiode for CMOS APS and method of formation

Family Cites Families (21)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS61111057A (en) 1984-11-06 1986-05-29 Canon Inc Image reader
US5912942A (en) * 1997-06-06 1999-06-15 Schick Technologies, Inc. X-ray detection system using active pixel sensors
US6344877B1 (en) 1997-06-12 2002-02-05 International Business Machines Corporation Image sensor with dummy pixel or dummy pixel array
US5880495A (en) 1998-01-08 1999-03-09 Omnivision Technologies, Inc. Active pixel with a pinned photodiode
US6218691B1 (en) * 1998-06-30 2001-04-17 Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. Image sensor with improved dynamic range by applying negative voltage to unit pixel
US6140630A (en) 1998-10-14 2000-10-31 Micron Technology, Inc. Vcc pump for CMOS imagers
JP3655760B2 (en) * 1998-11-20 2005-06-02 三菱電機株式会社 Infrared solid-state image sensor
AU3511400A (en) 1999-03-01 2000-09-21 Photobit Corporation Active pixel sensor with fully-depleted buried photoreceptor
US6376868B1 (en) 1999-06-15 2002-04-23 Micron Technology, Inc. Multi-layered gate for a CMOS imager
US6310366B1 (en) 1999-06-16 2001-10-30 Micron Technology, Inc. Retrograde well structure for a CMOS imager
US6326652B1 (en) 1999-06-18 2001-12-04 Micron Technology, Inc., CMOS imager with a self-aligned buried contact
US6204524B1 (en) 1999-07-14 2001-03-20 Micron Technology, Inc. CMOS imager with storage capacitor
US6333205B1 (en) 1999-08-16 2001-12-25 Micron Technology, Inc. CMOS imager with selectively silicided gates
US6307195B1 (en) * 1999-10-26 2001-10-23 Eastman Kodak Company Variable collection of blooming charge to extend dynamic range
US6710804B1 (en) * 2000-01-18 2004-03-23 Eastman Kodak Company CMOS active pixel image sensor with extended dynamic range and sensitivity
US6566697B1 (en) * 2000-11-28 2003-05-20 Dalsa, Inc. Pinned photodiode five transistor pixel
US6794627B2 (en) * 2001-10-24 2004-09-21 Foveon, Inc. Aggregation of active pixel sensor signals
KR100830328B1 (en) * 2001-12-21 2008-05-16 매그나칩 반도체 유한회사 CMOS Image sensor and method for fabricaing the same
KR100462164B1 (en) * 2002-01-11 2004-12-17 매그나칩 반도체 유한회사 Cmos image sensor with enhanced fill factor
JP2004014911A (en) * 2002-06-10 2004-01-15 Renesas Technology Corp Semiconductor device and its manufacturing method
US7105793B2 (en) * 2003-07-02 2006-09-12 Micron Technology, Inc. CMOS pixels for ALC and CDS and methods of forming the same

Patent Citations (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5625210A (en) * 1995-04-13 1997-04-29 Eastman Kodak Company Active pixel sensor integrated with a pinned photodiode
US5841159A (en) * 1995-04-13 1998-11-24 Eastman Kodak Company Active pixel sensor integrated with a photocapacitor
US5904493A (en) * 1995-04-13 1999-05-18 Eastman Kodak Company Active pixel sensor integrated with a pinned photodiode
US6027955A (en) * 1995-04-13 2000-02-22 Eastman Kodak Company Method of making an active pixel sensor integrated with a pinned photodiode
US6100551A (en) * 1995-04-13 2000-08-08 Eastman Kodak Company Active pixel sensor integrated with a pinned photodiode
US5903021A (en) * 1997-01-17 1999-05-11 Eastman Kodak Company Partially pinned photodiode for solid state image sensors
US6051447A (en) * 1997-01-17 2000-04-18 Eastman Kodak Company Partially pinned photodiode for solid state image sensors
US20020020863A1 (en) * 2000-06-20 2002-02-21 Lee Seo Kyu CMOS active pixel for improving sensitivity
US20030071196A1 (en) * 2001-10-16 2003-04-17 Csem Centre Suisse D'electronique Et De Microtechnique Sa Photodetector with high dynamic range and increased operating temperature
US20070023804A1 (en) * 2003-03-28 2007-02-01 Inna Patrick Double pinned photodiode for CMOS APS and method of formation
US20060286708A1 (en) * 2005-01-14 2006-12-21 Omnivision Technologies, Inc. Image sensor and pixel having an optimized floating diffusion
US20070023796A1 (en) * 2005-07-27 2007-02-01 International Business Machines Corporation Pinning layer for pixel sensor cell and method thereof

Cited By (21)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7355229B2 (en) * 2003-09-17 2008-04-08 Micron Technology, Inc. Masked spacer etching for imagers
US20060243981A1 (en) * 2003-09-17 2006-11-02 Rhodes Howard E Masked spacer etching for imagers
US20080124829A1 (en) * 2004-12-09 2008-05-29 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Method for forming pinned photodiode resistant to electrical leakage
US7592199B2 (en) * 2004-12-09 2009-09-22 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd Method for forming pinned photodiode resistant to electrical leakage
US8390708B2 (en) * 2005-03-18 2013-03-05 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Solid state image pickup device and camera utilizing carrier holding unit and floating diffusion region
US20090109314A1 (en) * 2005-03-18 2009-04-30 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Solid state image pickup device and camera
US8896029B2 (en) 2005-03-18 2014-11-25 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Solid state image pickup device and camera
US8749675B2 (en) 2005-03-18 2014-06-10 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Solid state image pickup device and camera which can prevent color mixture
CN101909167A (en) * 2009-06-05 2010-12-08 索尼公司 Solid-state imaging device, method of driving the same, and electronic system including the device
EP2262226A1 (en) * 2009-06-05 2010-12-15 Sony Corporation Solid-state imaging device, method of driving the same, and electronic system including the device
US8854518B2 (en) 2009-06-05 2014-10-07 Sony Corporation Solid-state imaging device, method of driving the same, and electronic system including the device
US20100309357A1 (en) * 2009-06-05 2010-12-09 Sony Corporation Solid-state imaging device, method of driving the same, and electronic system including the device
US20140368709A1 (en) * 2009-06-05 2014-12-18 Sony Corporation Solid-state imaging device, method of driving the same, and electronic system including the device
US9071780B2 (en) * 2009-06-05 2015-06-30 Sony Corporation Solid-state imaging device, method of driving the same, and electronic system including the device
US9479715B2 (en) 2009-06-05 2016-10-25 Sony Corporation Solid-state imaging device, method of driving the same, and electronic system including the device
US9224780B2 (en) * 2012-05-31 2015-12-29 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor including a junction field effect transistor
US20140015025A1 (en) * 2012-07-13 2014-01-16 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Image sensors including channel stop regions surrounding photodiodes and methods of fabricating the same
US9041073B2 (en) * 2012-07-13 2015-05-26 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Image sensors including channel stop regions surrounding photodiodes and methods of fabricating the same
WO2019227066A1 (en) * 2018-05-24 2019-11-28 Gigajot Technology Llc Image sensor having pixels with isolated floating diffusions
US20230223412A1 (en) * 2022-01-13 2023-07-13 Semiconductor Components Industries, Llc Transistor structures
US11881492B2 (en) * 2022-01-13 2024-01-23 Semiconductor Components Industries, Llc Transistor structures

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US7115855B2 (en) 2006-10-03
US7119322B2 (en) 2006-10-10
CN100468755C (en) 2009-03-11
CN1875486A (en) 2006-12-06
US20050051701A1 (en) 2005-03-10
KR20060039945A (en) 2006-05-09
TWI281744B (en) 2007-05-21
JP2007504670A (en) 2007-03-01
TW200514249A (en) 2005-04-16
US20060131481A1 (en) 2006-06-22
US7279672B2 (en) 2007-10-09
WO2005041304A3 (en) 2005-06-30
EP1668701B1 (en) 2013-10-30
US20060202108A1 (en) 2006-09-14
EP1668701A2 (en) 2006-06-14
WO2005041304A2 (en) 2005-05-06
KR100854230B1 (en) 2008-08-25
US7394056B2 (en) 2008-07-01
CN101459189A (en) 2009-06-17

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US7394056B2 (en) Image sensor having pinned floating diffusion diode
US6500692B1 (en) Method of making trench photosensor for a CMOS imager
US7755119B2 (en) Method and apparatus for reducing imager floating diffusion leakage
US7091059B2 (en) Method of forming a photosensor comprising a plurality of trenches
US6310366B1 (en) Retrograde well structure for a CMOS imager
US6927089B2 (en) CMOS imager and method of formation
US7655494B2 (en) Trench photosensor for a CMOS imager
US7557335B2 (en) CMOS image sensor with photo diode gate
US7622321B2 (en) High dielectric constant spacer for imagers
US6686220B2 (en) Retrograde well structure for a CMOS imager
US7233038B2 (en) Self masking contact using an angled implant

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
FEPP Fee payment procedure

Free format text: PAYOR NUMBER ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: ASPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY

STCF Information on status: patent grant

Free format text: PATENTED CASE

FPAY Fee payment

Year of fee payment: 4

FPAY Fee payment

Year of fee payment: 8

AS Assignment

Owner name: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC., IDAHO

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:HONG, SUNGKWON C.;REEL/FRAME:040343/0101

Effective date: 20030818

AS Assignment

Owner name: APTINA IMAGING CORPORATION, CAYMAN ISLANDS

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.;REEL/FRAME:040823/0001

Effective date: 20080926

MAFP Maintenance fee payment

Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 12TH YEAR, LARGE ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M1553); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY

Year of fee payment: 12